Licenses for R Rated gear and Sectors Options

[Gunbunny]

Folks,

I need a hand here. I've got a group that is running Parliament of Thieves, and they're crossing borders. The players have bought Fake SINs and licenses for gear that is Restricted. My question is this...Is this sector specific? IE a license is for only one sector or nation? E.G. a license for UCAS wouldn't be honored in PCC, etc.

How does everyone else handle this? I know that in the Denver: City of Shadows sourcebook, each sector had their own items that were allowed (E.G. UCAS everything had to be licensed, CAS only cared about military gear, etc). Again...anyone go into this level of detail?

Thanks!

GB

[the_dunner]

How does everyone else handle this? I know that in the Denver: City of Shadows sourcebook, each sector had their own items that were allowed (E.G. UCAS everything had to be licensed, CAS only cared about military gear, etc). Again...anyone go into this level of detail?

I wouldn't worry about it. It's a neat piece of fluff, but in a campaign like this, it's an extra level of complexity that isn't really necessary. Most characters have enough challenges just having a variety of decent fake SINs. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Gunbunny]

*nods* That was my first thoughts, and how I let it play out last week, which was our first session. Thanks Dunner!

GB

[cryptoknight]

I just had a question about this come up.

It's two fold...

1. If I have a gun with integral pieces (like an Ingram Smartgun has Smartlink and Gas Vent 2 built in. Do I need a license for the Smartgun system (6R) and the Gas Vent 2 (4R)?

I ruled that pieces of a gun shouldn't be licensed, but I could see having a license if the pieces were removable... like an external smartgun system.

2. If I have a license for a gun... do I need a license for Regular Ammo?

Again I'm thinking not... but it makes me wonder why standard ammo has an availability (2R) except to screw with people?

And the reason I'm posting this to here (missions) is because it came up in a missions campaign that I'm starting. And the player in question wants to make sure he's got it right if he takes his character to a con.

I just re-read the rules on border crossings...

To quickly simulate a border crossing, have all
characters make a quick test of Fake SIN Rating +
Charisma + Etiquette. Threshold on the test is TR/2
(round-up). On a failure, the PC will need to pay a
300¥ bribe to get across safely. If the PC glitches,
the passage ends up taking longer than intended,
and the character needs to spend 300¥ on a bribe.
On a critical glitch, the PC loses one piece of
forbidden or restricted gear, and must spend 500¥
on a bribe.
If the whole party is attempting to cross as a
group, use a Teamwork test (SR4 p59) for the
border crossing. In the event of a glitch or critical
glitch, all players will suffer the previously mentioned
consequences.

Does this mean that licenses are unecessary and are just part of the fake SIN?

[the_dunner]

I just had a question about this come up.

IMO, you're adding unnecessary layers of complexity here.

I ruled that pieces of a gun shouldn't be licensed, but I could see having a license if the pieces were removable... like an external smartgun system.

Makes sense

2. If I have a license for a gun... do I need a license for Regular Ammo?

If something has an "R" in its availability code, then, by the book, it's restricted. Whether a law enforcement contractor is going to worry about it is another question entirely.

Does this mean that licenses are unecessary and are just part of the fake SIN?

It means that they're not applicable to the test used when quickly simulating a border crossing. If a PC is later dealing with a law enforcement professional, I'd think that it'd be a matter of how persuasive the PC is and how perceptive the NPC is.

[cryptoknight]

IMO, you're adding unnecessary layers of complexity here.

Makes sense

If something has an "R" in its availability code, then, by the book, it's restricted. Whether a law enforcement contractor is going to worry about it is another question entirely.

It means that they're not applicable to the test used when quickly simulating a border crossing. If a PC is later dealing with a law enforcement professional, I'd think that it'd be a matter of how persuasive the PC is and how perceptive the NPC is.

Ok... but I'm just trying to grasp how the licenses work in SR4 esp with regards to missions. If the SIN Rating is the license rating i.e. Licenses are unnecessary because the SIN covers it in Missions, that's great. If the licenses are required, what level of detail is correct? Some of my players hope to one day participate in an SRM scramble, and they'd like to be prepared for whatever the "correct" interpretation of the rules with regards to fake SINS and fake Licenses are. Some things don't make sense though... all I can compare to is today... today I get a firearms permit. That (to my knowledge) includes the rights to load said firearm and shoot it (though not at somebody). But if in SR4 I need a Fake License for the Ammo as well as the gun, I get a bit confused. I could see a license for say alternate ammos like Ex-EX, APDS, Stick-n-shock... but for Gel, Hollow Point, Frangible, and Standard... I get a bit confused because it doesn't make sense to me.

[the_dunner]

It's pretty simple:
License are required for everything with an "R" availability rating, as I noted above.

However, just because something isn't required, doesn't mean a law enforcement NPC is going to enforce it. That's subject to GM interpretation. Just as, most of the time, a cop won't pull you over for going 5 MPH over the speed limit in RL, a cop may not panic over you not having every "i" dotted and "t" crossed on your licenses.

[cryptoknight]

ok... what about spell casting licenses? Are they just for spell casting, or by spell?

[TranKirsaKali]

Ok... but I'm just trying to grasp how the licenses work in SR4 esp with regards to missions. If the SIN Rating is the license rating i.e. Licenses are unnecessary because the SIN covers it in Missions, that's great. If the licenses are required, what level of detail is correct? Some of my players hope to one day participate in an SRM scramble, and they'd like to be prepared for whatever the "correct" interpretation of the rules with regards to fake SINS and fake Licenses are. Some things don't make sense though... all I can compare to is today... today I get a firearms permit. That (to my knowledge) includes the rights to load said firearm and shoot it (though not at somebody). But if in SR4 I need a Fake License for the Ammo as well as the gun, I get a bit confused. I could see a license for say alternate ammos like Ex-EX, APDS, Stick-n-shock... but for Gel, Hollow Point, Frangible, and Standard... I get a bit confused because it doesn't make sense to me.

The SIN does not cover licenses. Licenses are just attached to the SIN. The license just has {I believe} to be the rating of the SIN it is attached too.

[cryptoknight]

The SIN does not cover licenses. Licenses are just attached to the SIN. The license just has {I believe} to be the rating of the SIN it is attached too.

Per rules as written yes, but in the rules on border crossings for SR Missions, they give an alternate rule that uses the Rating of the SIN instead of the rating of the license.

[DireRadiant]

Some of my players hope to one day participate in an SRM scramble, and they'd like to be prepared for whatever the "correct" interpretation of the rules with regards to fake SINS and fake Licenses are.

The games are run for fun and education. Trust me that if the Missions GM makes noises about each ammo type needing a license, it's only because the border guard is arguing for a larger bribe. Roll with it.

[DireRadiant]

Oh, and it's really not much fun going through a Players sheet looking for each Restricted or Forbidden item on each and every border crossing that may occur in a single Mission. The GM wants to have some fun too. Thus simplified "quick" border crossing rules. It's only a 3 and half hour slot.

[cryptoknight]

Oh, and it's really not much fun going through a Players sheet looking for each Restricted or Forbidden item on each and every border crossing that may occur in a single Mission. The GM wants to have some fun too. Thus simplified "quick" border crossing rules. It's only a 3 and half hour slot.

That's actually what I was hoping would be the case... rather than having a million and a half licenses... just use the Fake SIN rating... it's nice.. it's quick.. and it's clean... but if they do need to worry about having every single thing licensed... then they will... the cost isn't very prohibitive...